After a small thunderstorm my PC wont power up, there are no lights either on the power button or on the back. I have tried to reset the power supply, tried a different power cord, different power source. the PC is in another state, so I cant physically see it. I suspect the power supply is bad, but I need help.
fdhbyfh 0 Newbie Poster
mike_d 0 Newbie Poster
How did you try the things you mention if it's in another state? Best way is open case and check power with volt meter at main harness from power supply. Pretty sure you can get a wiring diagrahm at dell.com for which leads should have what voltage. eBay has plenty of these power supply units for under fifty bucks. Simple to swap. Good luck.
novarod 0 Newbie Poster
This thread is a little old but I can add some of what I've seen with these specific PC's. I have worked on three in the past year with the exact same symptoms (Thunderstorm, won't power up). I found in each case the -5v in the power supply was shot and the motherboard was defective. Those were the only two parts(power supply, motherboard) I've had to replace. I suspect the -5v was the reason the motherboard died as this type of failure will kill the mb.
bama.mal 0 Newbie Poster
Open the case(side Panel) and see if there is a green light on the motherboard....I have one of these and have had a similiar problem....if green light is not on with the comp plugged in then the most likely cause is a deffective power supply....Mal....
edna.cutright 0 Newbie Poster
Same problem with a Dimension 3000. I tried replacing the power supply, no effect, so I put the old one back. My next step was to buy a mobo ($69 ebay or $97 dell) and swap that.
You mentioned bad 5V will kill the mobo? How do I know the 5V is OK? I do get a green LED on the mobo.
novarod 0 Newbie Poster
I have a power supply tester. It showed the power supply -5v as defective and that the power supply could possibly destroy the motherboard. The green light was on for each instance so that didn't help me.
I found my new motherboard on ebay for around $76 shipped. I have since installed a new power supply and motherboard, powered up tested, and all is well. This is the third one I've worked on and it failed exactly the same way each time (I service a lot of PC's).
Do yourself a favor, just go get a new power supply (cheap at www.newegg.com) and motherboard (ebay) and you'll be singing sweet songs before you know it.
Hope that helps.
novarod
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